KINGSVILLE, Texas – Javelina football will be back this Saturday night, as Texas A&M-Kingsville prepares for its 2023 home opener against nationally ranked #20 West Georgia at 7 p.m. inside Javelina Stadium.
Saturday's meeting will mark the first time the Javelinas and Wolves have met on the gridiron, and the first time TAMUK has faced an opponent out of the Gulf South Conference, since losing to West Alabama in 2015.
The Javelinas enter their home opener, 1-0 after earning a 30-10, season opening win against Colorado Mesa.
The Hogs' defense will look to continue their strong start to the season, after a week one performance that sees them ranked 24th in all of Division II in total defense, and 7th in rushing defense after holding the Mavericks to just 230 total yards last week with only 28 coming via the run.
The defense also forced two turnovers last week, both interceptions with transfer Caden Ochoa taking one back for a touchdown in his Blue and Gold debut.
Special teams also played a critical role in the Javelina win, providing two touchdowns, the first coming via a 93-yard kickoff return by Amos Coleman III, and the second coming by way of Blake Jacques who blocked and returned a CMU punt.
Veteran running back Christian Anderson picked up his scoring form from a season ago with a rushing touchdown that capped of the win in the fourth quarter.
Scouting the Wolves
West Georgia comes to the Lonestar State for only the third time in program history after picking up its 11th straight season opening win last Saturday defeating Limestone, 21-19.
WGU is led by head coach David Dean who is the program's winningest head coach all time with a record of 43-16 as the leader of the Wolves.
Under Dean, the Wolves have never lost a road non-conference game with the last loss to a non-conference opponent coming in 2019.
The Wolves will be short one of their top running backs, Wesley Kennedy, but will look to the second half of their backfield duo in Rajez Mosley who combined with Kennedy in week one for 243 rushing yards, scoring all three of WGU's touchdowns.
New WGU quarterback Ben Whitlock will look to improve on his college debut a week ago, where the sophomore thew for 163 yards and one interception, completing 12-of-24 attempted passes.
Defensively, the Wolves are led by Xavier Robinson who led the team in tackles in 2022 and last week with 11, the second most in his career, and 15th in all of Division II so far this season.
Stay up-to-date with everything related to Javelina football all year long by following the program on X and Instagram at @JavelinaFB and see recent news on Facebook at /JavelinaFootball. Watch your Javelinas live on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.
